The present invention relates to a wheel for light vehicles, such as for example motor vehicles, and particularly, but not exclusively, to a wheel for motor-bicycles.
Various types of wheels for motor-bicycles are known, and all of them are of one the following models: spoked wheels, die-cast spoked wheels and plate wheels. The spoked wheels, similar to bicycle wheels, are supported by a hub and a rim made of plate which are joined to one another by means of a plurality of metal rods disposed radially in at least two series and oblique relative to the axis of rotation of the wheel and with an inclination in opposite directions to one another. The die-cast wheels are made in one piece, usualy of aluminum or light alloys. There have also been proposed wheels of this second type made of synthetic plastic resin. The wheels of this second type have a hub and a rim joined to one another by a variable number (usually three or four) of tapered spokes and are very similar, on the whole, to a spoked pulley. The wheels made of plate comprise two central members coupled to one another to define a hub and a plurality of spokes for the said wheel, formed by shearing and pressing from at least two separate sheets of plate, and an outer rim formed by pressing and rolling of a third sheet of plate. These three members are then joined to each other by riveting or by welding.
The types of wheels described hereinabove are not free from disadvantages. In particular, the spoked wheels are of economical construction but have a poor strength and require continuous maintenance and frequent substitution of the metal rods which, because of impacts, easily break and deform. The die-cast wheels made of aluminum or metal alloys are very widely used, have a high strength and do not require any maintenance but are more expensive and require expensive equipment for their manufacturing. The die-cast wheels made of plastics are lighter but are less reliable. Finally, the wheels made of plate usually are very heavy and have the disadvantage in that they are composed of three pieces which require expensive connection operations. In addition, they form excessive scrap.